Editorial

Amazon Adventure 3D arrives at IMAX

In the Amazon rainforest, natural marvels are as varied as they are numerous – and some of the most extraordinary of all hide in plain sight.

On May 26, the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater will debut “Amazon Adventure 3D.” This giant-screen production from award-winning SK Films transports viewers back in time to join naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates on what’s been called the most extraordinary scientific adventure of all time.

While braving perilous storms and contracting diseases that left him on death’s door, Bates investigated the ways animals blend into their environment and protect themselves from predators by mimicking the patterning of more dangerous prey.

Filmed on location in the Amazon region, “Amazon Adventure 3D” is a detective story filled with dramatic wildlife footage. Insects and fish that look like leaves, lizards that look like vines and even birds that appear to be dead branches are only revealed upon closer inspection. When shown using the IMAX with Laser projection system, these natural tricksters appear extraordinarily vivid and almost touchable.

The conclusions Bates arrived at during his 11-year expedition in the rainforest had a profound impact on the scientific world. The discoveries he brought back with him to England provided what Charles Darwin deemed “beautiful proof” for the theory of natural selection. To this day, vulnerable species adapting the appearance of noxious or otherwise dangerous animals is called “Batesian mimicry” in his honor.